Do you have metatarsalagia?

Sounds to me a bit like “nostalgia” right? Well, not quite. If nostalgia resides most often, when diagnosed, inside one’s head, “metatarsolagia” reside at the opposite end of the body, namely right next to the toes… At the end of last winter, I began to feel that “pebble-in-the-shoe” sensation or rather a lingering forefoot or toe pain, couldn’t spot any inflammation in the area and has been suffering almost every day since, until it was time for my annual check up early this week. 

Besides measuring now 1.5” less now than during my “peak period”, I explained my foot pain to our doctor. He said that it could on only be metatarsalgia, a condition that causes pain and inflammation in the ball of one’s foot, specifically around the metatarsal bones—the long bones just behind your toes.

This isn’t a disease, but just a symptom from excess pressure on the forefoot. It usually is quite common in runners, people who wear tight or unsupportive shoes, or those with foot deformities like hammertoes or high arches. 

It’s also, as my doctor knows, a recurrent problem with skiers that cram their feet in ski boots too narrow and which in turn promote that condition. In my case I suspect 2 pairs of Nike excessively narrow in the toe box area that I wore for one year or 2,000 miles. I tested that assumption on a new pair of running shoes with a much wider toe-box, and it seems to be right. 

Again, as we saw earlier the symptoms are a sharp, aching, or burning pain in the second and third toe and not so much in the ball of the foot. That pain worsened with walking, running, or standing, especially barefoot on hard surfaces (I use a stand-up desk) creating tingling, pain or numbness in the toes, sometimes feeling as if we had stepped on a pebble. 

Now, I finally understand...

Checking Thaynes out

This past weekend, we rode Crescent, one of Park City’s main lifts to go and hike to the bottom of Thaynes chairlift, that is also the site of the old Crescent mine and its huge heap of tailings.

The 3.3 mile round-trip hike is easy, almost flat and got us to the bottom of my favorite Park City run.

We saw no one around, the weather was nice and cool and it’s always hard to imagine that in about three months, I’ll be skiing up and down that hill!

Mt. Timpanogos, the long walk

Early this week, after a three-year hiatus, I decided to return to Mt. Timpanogos, in the company of my daughter.

I soon discovered what a difference several years can make on a septuagenarian climbing performance. In years past, that summer climb had always been a grueling experience, but this time, it became sheer agony for me.

My backpack felt way too heavy, the trail overly steep and the sun far too warm. This wasn’t taking into consideration the fact that when one gets to the top, there isn’t any quick way down. No zip-line, no helicopter or para-glider.

What’s been done on the way up has to be entirely replicated on the way down, but by then, there’s very little energy left to sustain the sizable effort required. Well, we both made it down to the car and I promised myself that I would seriously train to make my next and 11th ascent a much easier one!

Crossing paths?

This past weekend, I went hiking with my 11 year old grandson and we both had a wonderful time.

My little companion didn’t hold me up and climbed without a problem. It certainly helped that he now trains regularly at a climbing gym and that finding a solid footing has almost become second nature to him.

While I still might have a little more endurance than he does, we’re almost now at a similar physical level. Him growing and improving, me slowly going down in my abilities. So, it’s tempting to look at charting either one of us physical performance and comparing how these will intersect.

Even though I’m the one who made it up, the picture tells a lot about our compatibility for hiking and climbing over the next three to five years, without having one of us limping or huffing and puffing behind (that would be me!), and continue to have tons of fun together.

A welcome good news!

Beautiful Uintas!

Yesterday we hiked to Ruth Lake, located one hour away from our home in the Uinta Mountains, a range of mountains straddling the Utah and Wyoming border.

These mountains are unusual for being the highest range in the contiguous United States running east to west. Its peaks average 12,000 feet high with Kings Peak, at 13,528 feet, as its highest point and also highest Utah's elevation.

The range is accessed mainly through the Mirror Lake Highway that crosses the western half of the Uintas on its way to Wyoming and presently, during foliage season, the drive is an absolute colorful treat!

Unexpected encounter

Yesterday morning, I went hiking from Empire Pass to Jupiter Peak, the summit overlooking Park City.

The last section of the peak ascent is a narrow ridge with loose shale, that requires a bit of scrambling and that's bordered on one side by a nasty cliff.

As I was where the arrow is placed on the picture, I was startled by two mountain-bikers coming out of nowhere and barreling down the ridge.

I instinctively stepped aside but the two dare-devils didn't even slow down as they passed me.

I thought to myself, these two guys are playing with fire and will soon learn how it feels when their tender skins hit the rocks!

Old trailblazers, unprepared explorers...

Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea to suggest a drive to the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir, an elongated man-made lake, located on the western edge of the Uinta Mountains, just 30 miles away from Park City and less than one hour drive from our home.

The reservoir is cradled into a scenic conifer and aspen forest at 7,800 feet. We thought it'd be a good idea to hike around the lake by following a narrow trail on the eastern shore (there's only a dirt road on the opposite side) as we saw a group of youngsters hiking on it.

Soon, the trail proved to be much more of a challenge than we had anticipated as it winded, climbed and plunged back and forth over a steep ledge overlooking the water, interrupted in all places by fallen trees we had to either step or climb over depending on their size.

We eventually caught up with the hikers that had stopped over a promontory high above the reservoir, where a huge rope swing was set and from which they took turns to jump into the lake. We watch a few of these young daredevils impressing each others and went on.

Once more, our hike turned into a nightmare as we had to zigzag our way through trees, rocks, steep ravine, slippery spots, brush and mud. It took us about two hours to cover what might have been a 2 mile trek and when we reached the southern tip of the reservoir we were pooped, bruised, wet and bloody. On top of that, the thunder was rumbling and the storm was getting too close for comfort.

By chance, we hitched a ride back to our car with a young man who was fishing not far from the spot where we emerged out of that mountain jungle, saving us an other one and a half mile of a painful return walk.

No more bush-walking around that lake!

Mt. Timpanogos' postman...

Climbing to the top of Mt. Timpanogos seems like a long, late-summer tradition as I have performed the climb several time. Yesterday was my 9th time and it was the 4th time for my daughter.

My wife and I started the climb in 1995 and this is a grueling hike that I have always enjoyed. I have chronicled this climb in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Last year, we met a 73 year-old man who had climbed the mountain several hundred times. He almost does it everyday in summer and this year, we once more ran into him. This time he was 74 and had ascended Mt. Timp (as most people call it) some 837 times!

Ben Woolsey is a retired postal worker from Orem (near Provo, Utah) who makes the 15-mile round trip hike up to the summit of Mt. Timpanogos three to six times per week during the hiking season.

Over the years Ben has become a familiar face on the mountain, earning the nickname “That Guy,” meaning "that guy" that is always hiking Timp. Ben is an inspiring character whose performance leaves absolutely no room for excuse or complains for all of us who are his juniors!

Ascending speed or rate of climb

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend about mountaineering and hiking, when he brought up the concept of doing 280 or 300 meter per hour or something in this order, while ascending a French summit near Chamonix.

Since I didn't know what he was talking about, I asked what he meant by it and he explained the widespread practice of measuring climbing speed, when climbing hills or mountains in the Alps.

After we hung up the phone, I did some quick research and found that the rate of climb, expressed in meters per hour, is the product of one's Critical Power by the VO2max divided by the Energy Cost.

In that formula, the Critical Power is the highest intensity of effort that can be sustained for a long period of time, the VO2max is the maximum flow of oxygen that can be processed by the individual and the Energy Cost is the amount of energy expended.

When I understood the significance of the method of measurement, I looked up at some of my hikes. Back in 2002 my wife and I climbed Mt. Timpanogos at a rate of 400 meters per hour and just last summer, I covered the 4,385' vertical course (1,335 meters), along with my daughter at about 383 meters per hour...

Peak performance ?

At an elevation of 9,998 feet, Jupiter Peak dominates Park City and can be an easy hike if you park your car 2.2 miles away, at Empire Pass, 1,145 feet below.

The path to the summit follows the ridge-line and gets you there in about one hour and returning takes about 40 minutes. My daughter and I climbed it yesterday and got caught in a mixture of thunderstorm and hailstorm.

The weather was unsettled when we left home and suddenly turned to the worst as we reached the peak. For a while we were about certain to be struck by lighting, but we dodged the fireballs but just got pummeled by half-inch sized hails!

A special encounter

Yesterday, as we were climbing Mt. Timpanogos, we ran into a very special gentleman, knows under the moniker of “That guy”.

We didn't know who he was as he met us on his way down while we were climbing up. We said hello and exchanged a few words and very soon I understood he was “That guy.”

I asked him how many times he had climbed the mountain this year, he answered “Fifty!” and I realized that he was Ben Woolsey, a 73 year old retired postal worker from Utah County who has climbed the mountain close to 730 times and did it 72 times on the year he was 72!

He gave us a high-five, got all my admiration, my envy (in a positive way) and inspired both my daughter and I for the rest of the climb!

 

Another way to climb Mt. Timpanogos

Each summer, I do my best to get to the top of Mt Timpanogos, either in company of my wife or my daughter. Today was no exception and I reached the top of that big mountain for the eighth time while my daughter scored her third climb.

This time we chose the Timpanooke trail instead of Aspen Grove, since we wanted to avoid a grueling walk over the boulders of moraine after the snow had melted. A lack of snow this winter and a nice summer almost melted the entire « glacier » or at least the only permanent snowfield we have in Utah. Global warming is indeed killing our way of life !

The vertical was a little bit less at 4,347 ft, but the trail is much flatter and easier, yet a bit longer. This year, I was in top form, but still fell bit up when we got down to the car. Must repeat next year !

Zion's Angels Landing

We concluded our trip to Zion National Park with a hike to Angels Landing, a classic hike that isn't for the faint of heart. We climbed a 1,488-foot tall rock formation that provides a spectacular view of Zion Canyon.

The trail to Angels Landing is 2.4 miles long. The upper portion of the trail also known as Walter's Wiggles is where it get serious and a bit spooky, with a series of 21 steep switchbacks equipped with support chains anchored intermittently the whole half-mile leading to the top.

We choose not to base-jump from the top at 5,790 feet, and completed the round trip in one healthy piece. Apparently, over the years, five people didn't.

Hike to Mt. Timpanogos

Yesterday was the seventh time I reached the top of Mt. Timpanogos, a fortress-like mountain that dominates Sundance ski resort and frames the Heber Valley, on the other side of Park City. This is a wonderful hike and I enjoyed my daughter's company to climb the 4,842 feet vertical.

For her second time climbing, she had much more stamina than I had, which is a clear signal that after seating on my duff for so long, it's now time for me to return to some serious training. There is no room for lying in mountaineering.

Another positive element that the mountain-goats, Timpanogos local resident welcome us and let us shoot pictures of them like I had never done before. Another great reason to return.

Back in Capitol Reef National Park

The last time I was at Capitol Reef National Park in Southern Utah was close to a quarter century ago. At that time, we had “done” the major Utah National Parks and after zooming through Bryce, Zion, that particular park and Arches, we were totally “parked-out.”

We had seen rock in so many shapes, sizes and colors that we could no longer stand the sight of one single extra mineral body. There's so much rock one can take, it's heavy, massive and very hard to digest. For us it's about two or three days at the most.

All that makes me think of these hordes of tourist who see most of our National Parks in Utah over the course of ten days or so. They must be rocked out of their wits and probably need a strong medical treatment to get rid of all this extra mineral overload!

How we stay in shape for skiing...

Since skiing is so central to my life, the last thing I need is be out of shape when the ski season arrives. . For a while and very early on, I was a ski instructor and this wonderful sport was everything for me, so I guess that because of my occupation and my youth, I didn't need to worry about staying in shape.

Then, I joined the corporate world and between long office hours and endless travel all around the world, I quickly began to feel out of shape, not just when I got a chance to ski, but most of the rest of the time. This is how, more than 35 years ago, I decided to take on running and I've been doing it ever since. At least 5 days a week, all year long, rain, snow or shine!

As of today, I've almost ran 30,000 miles and continue to be an avid runner; in fact, I must confess that now, road-running has grown to becoming my number-one sport because it is the pillar of my year-long, daily routine. Beside running and when there's no skiing, I also have taken mountain biking which has become my other major summer and fall activity.

 I seriously began riding 8 years ago and this past season, I logged almost 70 days on the Park City trails! I love this sport too, and because it has so much in common with skiing, it has become my favorite counter-seasonal activity!

We used to hike more into the mountains before our mountain bikes came on the scene, but now, this other outdoor activity has taken a back-seat to bike riding. That remains true today, but we may return to doing more hiking when mountain biking becomes less friendly to our aging bodies, so things may evolve in that field and pretty soon, we may return to hiking...

Then there's just plain walking; that's right, walking around the block in our Park Meadows neighborhood. Sometimes, we even walk to Old Town Park City and depending on our mood walk the whole round-trip back home or return with the bus. My wife and I love it too and in a year, we walk about half the distance we cover running.

Should I mention that when possible, we always avoid elevators and chose the stairs instead, and we are still performing all of our household chores ourselves including cleaning around the house, clearing the snow and tending our grounds. Finally, we eat good and healthy foods, drink with moderation, don't smoke and get a full-night sleep.

So, all in all, there is never a dull moment in our active life and this harmoniously balanced lifestyle is probably what keeps us in to shape when the new ski season begins!

Climbing Mt. Timpanogos

It (almost) used to be an annual rite for us to climb nearby Mt. Timpanogos, once in the summer, but since 2002 we just... forgot to do it. What inspired me to return to it this year was a combination of reasons.

First a friend of mine told me that he traditionally too, climbed Mt. Buet in the French Alps every year and then I wanted to get back into hiking, plus thought that it would be cool to guide my daughter into that epic climb; so that's how all the planets and stars aligned yesterday to make the event possible.

The mountain stands like a sentinel in the Heber Valley and always send an open invitation to climb it. From the Aspen Grove trail-head (6,910 feet) to the top (11,749 feet) it's a steady 4,839 feet vertical climb...

It was also the first time we ascended the mountain so late in the season and with so little snow left, making it much harder to progress through fields of rocks and boulders.

The important result is that we wrapped it up once more and that after more than six hours of harsh hiking time, we were both beat but happy!

Activities, time and money

Okay, running is our favorite activity and also the one that takes us the least amount of time for returning – in our opinion – the greatest amount of good. Not just that, but consider that almost no special gear is needed and it's possible to run everywhere.

Skiing, my second preferred activity, is also a major time consumer (I haven't said “time waster” yet!) and the gear it requires is both substantial and costly if one includes passes and the like.

Mountain-biking, our new-found love, is time-efficient and if a good bike may cost a bundle, once you have it, the cost of practicing the sport isn't too high.

Hiking is great too, costs little but can devour quite some time, depending on the trek.

To close that discussion, I would say that walking, is a close cousin to running and is almost as time and cost-effective!

Golf has not been covered in that blog, because I personally hate that little white ball!

Time for a break...

Like anything else, all things are good in moderation... This season, in addition to running much faster than ever before and still five days a week, we've also been walking more often after dinner under the pretense of digestion and to top it all we've never mountain biked so much.

So, it was no surprise to us when, a few days ago, we suddenly realized that we were exhausted. That's right, we're not in our twenty anymore and we need to save whatever energy is still capable to powering us. We promised ourselves that from now on, we'd be more careful with our batteries and take some time off.

Our problem however is that in trying to do so, we've discovered that we've become exercise junkies!

A hike to Jupiter Peak...

Since 1995, we've done that hike about 14 times. We typically leave the car at Empire Pass and walk up the ridge to Jupiter Peak. The trip is 4.27 mile r/t (6,87 km) with a vertical gain is 1,058 ft (322 m).

The last time we climbed up that way was in 2010. Jupiter Peak towers over Park City at 9,990 ft (3045 m), but the highest point is in fact farther away, behind the Jupiter Chair at 10,027 ft (3130 m).

In recent years, the last eight to be precise, our hiking has suffered a great deal from our mountain biking. We should do more of it!